I've enjoyed today so far. Unfortunately, Jim has been working for most of the day, covering a case first thing this morning, then coming home and was home long enough to run a 3 mile jog with me before he got called out again to cover another case. He is on his way back home now, so I think we are going to watch a movie (it is a perfect napping / movie / reading day since it is raining!) and make a yummy dinner. It's been a long time since we have cooked a nice meal together since i didn't make it home all week before 8:00 pm. Leaving for work at 6:15 in the morning and getting home at 8:00 or so each night this week made for a LONG one.
One of my guilty pleasures on the weekend when Jim is at work and I have done the regular stuff around the house is to watch the E network on TV! Talk about some mindless tv!! Today, I have been watching a special on Lottery winners, and how their lives transpire after the big win. It's amazing to me the number of people who basically end up worse off than they ever were before! I keep thinking to myself, "how wasteful"! How many wonderful things could I do with all of that money, for both myself & others?! Of course, I would like to say that a HUGE amount of money wouldn't change me, but I think that may be a bit naive. I do know that we would like travel more and we would have a different house (at least different carpet in ours!!). And I am NOT one of those people that would say "i would still work even if I was a millionaire". Are you kidding me?? I wouldn't even hand in my badge...I would stick it in the mail! I don't go to work because I love it, although I know there are some people out there that can say that. I go to work to earn a living so I can enjoy the REST of my life as I work and eventually retire. Working to me is simply a means to enjoy things OUTSIDE of work. Don't get me wrong...I have been blessed to have some good friends at work and I am better for having them in my life. But we could still keep in touch if I was a millionaire!
Tomorrow is our weekly long run. The training plan we are following have us running 13 miles tomorrow. Jim bought some of those goo pack things, which will be nice to have along the way. We run in our neighborhood, and have a 4 mile path identified by using a very cool website that tracks distances. We keep chapstick, kleenex, water, and food at our driveway while we are running long runs so we can fuel up a few times during the run. There is no way to do it without food & water along the way!
Saturday, January 27, 2007
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
Goose Sighting
So I finally saw my roadkill today....at least I think it was the same goose! Apparently it took my brain about 1/2 mile to realize what had happened to me on that fateful Friday, because the evidence was NOT in the same spot where I thought the incident occurred.
There could be 3 explanations:
1 - I hit that thing SO hard, it flew back that far!!! Not likely, as I probably wouldn't have been the only one with a broken windshield if this were the case.
2- There is a cult of suicidal geese on the highway in Pascagoula, MS!!
3 - Maybe it took my brain about 1/2 mile to realize what had happened to me on that fateful Friday, because the evidence was NOT in the same spot where I thought the incident occurred.
There could be 3 explanations:
1 - I hit that thing SO hard, it flew back that far!!! Not likely, as I probably wouldn't have been the only one with a broken windshield if this were the case.
2- There is a cult of suicidal geese on the highway in Pascagoula, MS!!
3 - Maybe it took my brain about 1/2 mile to realize what had happened to me on that fateful Friday, because the evidence was NOT in the same spot where I thought the incident occurred.
Monday, January 22, 2007
Ode to my Pea
Today is such a special day,
I really have so much to say!
You're my pea
It's plain to see
blah blah blah blah blah blay.
(I never was much for writing limericks)
Jim turned 33 today! What a perfect day for me to tell you all just what a fantastic guy I have in my life! I truly believe that my life got better when I met Jim! We are best friends & he is the one person that I would choose to hang out with at any given moment. I will spare him the embarrassment of putting all my gush out there on this website, but just trust me when I say that I am absolutely the luckiest gal around. And his birthday is one day, especially, out of the rest of the year that I thank God for sending him my way! :)
By the way - today has become doubly special! Today, Mr. Robert McIntyre Crabtree was born!! Congrats to our good friends here in Mobile, Forrest & Kelly Crabtree, who just welcomed their first child into this world today. We just got the news & are so happy for you both! We will always remember McIntyre's birthday!! :) We can't wait to meet him!
ps - My windshield is fixed :)
I really have so much to say!
You're my pea
It's plain to see
blah blah blah blah blah blay.
(I never was much for writing limericks)
Jim turned 33 today! What a perfect day for me to tell you all just what a fantastic guy I have in my life! I truly believe that my life got better when I met Jim! We are best friends & he is the one person that I would choose to hang out with at any given moment. I will spare him the embarrassment of putting all my gush out there on this website, but just trust me when I say that I am absolutely the luckiest gal around. And his birthday is one day, especially, out of the rest of the year that I thank God for sending him my way! :)
By the way - today has become doubly special! Today, Mr. Robert McIntyre Crabtree was born!! Congrats to our good friends here in Mobile, Forrest & Kelly Crabtree, who just welcomed their first child into this world today. We just got the news & are so happy for you both! We will always remember McIntyre's birthday!! :) We can't wait to meet him!
ps - My windshield is fixed :)
Sunday, January 21, 2007
A Tough Run
Today, Jim & I ran 10 miles right after church for our long run this week. We both realized that yesterday's 5k was harder on us than we realized! Today's run was tough. It was also unbearably humid here, with the temp at 70 degrees or so, which makes for a miserable long run. However, there was a VERY stiff breeze that did feel good, even though it did make it tougher to run against it.
This afternoon has been a lazy one - after the run we came back in, ate lunch & took a nap while watching the Saints/Bears playoff game. My boss is in the 1st row on one of the end zones - I bet he is freezing his tail off! After living in the South for a few years now, I have become such a wimp to the cold weather! So I can't imagine sitting out in it for hours.
This evening, we are going to church to help facilitate "Bible Skills & Thrills" with K-6th graders. I have to say, some of these little ones are just precious to me already, after having only worked with them last week so far. Others of them....although precious, are a bit of a handful! It's funny how you can pick out the troublemakers after only a few minutes in the room with them! I hope this week goes better. Afterwards, we are going to our friends' Angie & Owen's house for a football watch party / birthday party.
Never a dull moment!!
This afternoon has been a lazy one - after the run we came back in, ate lunch & took a nap while watching the Saints/Bears playoff game. My boss is in the 1st row on one of the end zones - I bet he is freezing his tail off! After living in the South for a few years now, I have become such a wimp to the cold weather! So I can't imagine sitting out in it for hours.
This evening, we are going to church to help facilitate "Bible Skills & Thrills" with K-6th graders. I have to say, some of these little ones are just precious to me already, after having only worked with them last week so far. Others of them....although precious, are a bit of a handful! It's funny how you can pick out the troublemakers after only a few minutes in the room with them! I hope this week goes better. Afterwards, we are going to our friends' Angie & Owen's house for a football watch party / birthday party.
Never a dull moment!!
Saturday, January 20, 2007
Panther Pride 5k Results
This morning, Jim & I woke up early to eat some race-day traditional banana bread, drink coffee & get ready for today's Panther Pride 5k. We both decided this morning that we were going to push ourselves hard during this race, since we figure we can do anything tough for 3.1 miles! We were both very happy with our results...I ended up shaving over 2 minutes off my last 5k we ran in December. I finished in 25:29, which was an 8:12 split. I was 9th out of 13 in my age division (tough crowd!!), and 115th out of 326 total runners. Jim averaged just under 8:00 per mile...at 7:58, finishing the race in 24:48. He was 97 out of 326, and 9th in his age division out of 24.
The post-race food today was great - doughnuts, bagels, pastries. I opted to go for the oranges instead, until they had pepperoni pizzas delivered from Godfathers!! Hot pizza at 9:00 am hit the spot. After we left the race, we stopped by the gym on the way home to do some weight training. We came home, showered up fast & went to a matinee to see "The Good Shepherd". We asked Jim's dad to join us, and he chose wisely by not coming. It was too long - the movie could have been shortened quite a bit & it would have been more enjoyable. Matt Damon was good in the movie, but he probably had about 50 lines in the whole 2+ hours! Strange & complicated movie.
Tomorrow is a 10 mile run for us both. I'm looking forward to it because I am at a very good part of my book on CD that I'm listening to on my iPod while I run. I'm listening to "The Poisonwood Bible", highly recommended by my sisters-in-law, and the fiance of Jim's childhood friend. Every book recommended by Tammi & Pam have been great - they haven't let me down yet!!
The post-race food today was great - doughnuts, bagels, pastries. I opted to go for the oranges instead, until they had pepperoni pizzas delivered from Godfathers!! Hot pizza at 9:00 am hit the spot. After we left the race, we stopped by the gym on the way home to do some weight training. We came home, showered up fast & went to a matinee to see "The Good Shepherd". We asked Jim's dad to join us, and he chose wisely by not coming. It was too long - the movie could have been shortened quite a bit & it would have been more enjoyable. Matt Damon was good in the movie, but he probably had about 50 lines in the whole 2+ hours! Strange & complicated movie.
Tomorrow is a 10 mile run for us both. I'm looking forward to it because I am at a very good part of my book on CD that I'm listening to on my iPod while I run. I'm listening to "The Poisonwood Bible", highly recommended by my sisters-in-law, and the fiance of Jim's childhood friend. Every book recommended by Tammi & Pam have been great - they haven't let me down yet!!
Friday, January 19, 2007
The Results
By the way - after reading my posts below, I realized that I didn't report out on my First Light Half Marathon results!
Here's the "Unofficial" results from the First Light Half Marathon webpage:
I finished 9th out of 40 in my age group with a time of 2:05:30, which is a 9:35/mile pace. I finished 184th out of 410 total runners of the half marathon. Not too shabby for my first ever half marathon!
Here's the "Unofficial" results from the First Light Half Marathon webpage:
I finished 9th out of 40 in my age group with a time of 2:05:30, which is a 9:35/mile pace. I finished 184th out of 410 total runners of the half marathon. Not too shabby for my first ever half marathon!
Tomorrow morning, Jim & I are running in the Panther Pride 5K. Here's a secret for you...I haven't been on a run since the half marathon last Sunday!!
Not your average Friday
There's no good way to say this....I am now a murderer. Although, I still do think that goose was a bit suicidal.
I was driving to work this morning around 7:30. I was probably 5 minutes from work, driving through Pascagoula, MS when I noticed a couple of geese in the median of the highway. They looked happy enough, pecking around at the ground on this gloomy morning. But this goes to show you that maybe people (or geese in this case) look or act happy on the outside, but maybe aren't really all that happy. For this goose, today was the end. Today was the day that he/she chose to end it all. This goose took off to fly (they're not such graceful taker-offers) but didn't quite clear my car on the ascension. ***WHOMP*** (this said in the James-style) Of course, at any anticipation of impact or something flying at you causes one to squish down in their seat & tightly shut ones eyes!! This reaction in and of itself could have really been bad!! But when I opened my eyes, the entire driver's side of my windshield was busted! There was even glass on my dash!
I have never been in an accident, other than a little love tap of a bumper at a rolling stop about 8 years ago, so needless to say - I was very very shaken up. The crazy thing about it was I didn't stop. The whole rest of the way to work, I had my hand over my mouth in shock, I was shaking, and kept trying to figure out if I should have stopped, but if I stopped, what would I do....give mouth to beak? I mean - I don't have a clue where the goose even went!? And there's really nothing to stop for. I doubt that the police would need to fill out a report or notify the goose's next of kin (I am betting that its next of kin was the other goose on the scene of the accident). As I kept driving, more glass shards were falling on my dash.
The only other thing to do at a scary time like this? Call the husband & cry like a baby!! I called Jim on his cell phone and he didn't pick up - Now what?! So I did something that I have only done one other time since he started his orthopedic surgical sales rep job...I paged him. Jim knows that something has to be awfully wrong for me to page him, so he returned my call right away & was definitely worried that something was very wrong. He was very relieved to know that I was only calling to report a suicidal goose & a busted windshield!! So I cried & blabbed for a couple of minutes until he told me that he had actually left a surgery to return my page. What a sweetheart! And that, my friend, is why you should never ever page to find out what is for dinner every night. Then they'll never think your page is an emergency! :) He takes such good care of me - he calmed me down & made me feel much better about the situation.
So the rest of the day included many phone calls from my coworkers who also park in the same lot as I do. I think they thought I committed a hit & run on the way to work - hee hee hee. I guess in a way, they were right! More so, people were calling to see if I was ok, see if I needed a ride or to see if I was shaken up. After I got over the initial shock & scare, I was able to laugh about it a little! Although, I wasn't quite ready for Jim's call to me this afternoon that began with "Hey Goose Killer!" Grumpy.
I called my insurance company, they told me I had no deductible for windshield replacement (WOOHOO!) and I got in touch with a great company in Mobile to do the work on the same day. I was worried to drive my car all the way back to Mobile with the windshield in its condition, and the speed of the highway & wind did cause some additional shards to fall on my dash - but I made it. I had a brand new Volkswagen windshield in 30 minutes! No money exchanged, no forms to fill out, no feathers to pluck.
Not bad for a Friday, huh?
I was driving to work this morning around 7:30. I was probably 5 minutes from work, driving through Pascagoula, MS when I noticed a couple of geese in the median of the highway. They looked happy enough, pecking around at the ground on this gloomy morning. But this goes to show you that maybe people (or geese in this case) look or act happy on the outside, but maybe aren't really all that happy. For this goose, today was the end. Today was the day that he/she chose to end it all. This goose took off to fly (they're not such graceful taker-offers) but didn't quite clear my car on the ascension. ***WHOMP*** (this said in the James-style) Of course, at any anticipation of impact or something flying at you causes one to squish down in their seat & tightly shut ones eyes!! This reaction in and of itself could have really been bad!! But when I opened my eyes, the entire driver's side of my windshield was busted! There was even glass on my dash!
I have never been in an accident, other than a little love tap of a bumper at a rolling stop about 8 years ago, so needless to say - I was very very shaken up. The crazy thing about it was I didn't stop. The whole rest of the way to work, I had my hand over my mouth in shock, I was shaking, and kept trying to figure out if I should have stopped, but if I stopped, what would I do....give mouth to beak? I mean - I don't have a clue where the goose even went!? And there's really nothing to stop for. I doubt that the police would need to fill out a report or notify the goose's next of kin (I am betting that its next of kin was the other goose on the scene of the accident). As I kept driving, more glass shards were falling on my dash.
The only other thing to do at a scary time like this? Call the husband & cry like a baby!! I called Jim on his cell phone and he didn't pick up - Now what?! So I did something that I have only done one other time since he started his orthopedic surgical sales rep job...I paged him. Jim knows that something has to be awfully wrong for me to page him, so he returned my call right away & was definitely worried that something was very wrong. He was very relieved to know that I was only calling to report a suicidal goose & a busted windshield!! So I cried & blabbed for a couple of minutes until he told me that he had actually left a surgery to return my page. What a sweetheart! And that, my friend, is why you should never ever page to find out what is for dinner every night. Then they'll never think your page is an emergency! :) He takes such good care of me - he calmed me down & made me feel much better about the situation.
So the rest of the day included many phone calls from my coworkers who also park in the same lot as I do. I think they thought I committed a hit & run on the way to work - hee hee hee. I guess in a way, they were right! More so, people were calling to see if I was ok, see if I needed a ride or to see if I was shaken up. After I got over the initial shock & scare, I was able to laugh about it a little! Although, I wasn't quite ready for Jim's call to me this afternoon that began with "Hey Goose Killer!" Grumpy.
I called my insurance company, they told me I had no deductible for windshield replacement (WOOHOO!) and I got in touch with a great company in Mobile to do the work on the same day. I was worried to drive my car all the way back to Mobile with the windshield in its condition, and the speed of the highway & wind did cause some additional shards to fall on my dash - but I made it. I had a brand new Volkswagen windshield in 30 minutes! No money exchanged, no forms to fill out, no feathers to pluck.
Not bad for a Friday, huh?
Monday, January 15, 2007
Two days in a row???
This is a new record! Two blogs in two days!! Pam - pick your jaw up off the floor! :-)
Tonight, I went to Bible Study at my church, where we are doing a 4-week video session of "Loving Well" by Beth Moore. The point of the study is to understand God's love for us, and how that leads to us loving others, which is God's commandment to us. The first week's session established 4 categories of people that we are called by God to love....and if you get right down to it - everyone you know can be placed in these 4 categories:
1 - Joy....These are the people who are a JOY to love! Now of course, this doesn't mean you never get frustrated at these people, or annoyed or even down right mad at them because we are not God and our love is not Perfect Love - as His is. Your "Joy" people are easy to love and you love being around them.
2 - Testy....These people are those that you just dread. You deal with them, but you don't look forward to it. They are under your skin before you even start a conversation with them! They try every ounce of you! You just can't imagine HOW you are supposed to love these people?!
3 - Hate....This person or these people are those that you can admit that you truly hate, or have hated, even though you know it is just so wrong to hate them. They have wronged you so terribly or have done something so despicable in your life that you have no idea how to forgive them, let alone, how to love them.
4 - Far...These are the people that you don't know at all or hardly know. God also calls us to love strangers, provide for them, give to them, be kind to them, LOVE them. LOOK for opportunities to love strangers.
I thought these 4 categories were quite fitting, and it really got me to thinking about who I have in each category. God doesn't just tell us to love the JOYs in our life - even though that is where we tend to concentrate the most time, effort & energy in loving.
My commitment during this study is to gain a deeper understanding of God's love for me, which will then cause me to love myself better, and will therefore allow me to love others & show God's love through my actions.
But between me & you...I had some "testy" encounters today.....God is still working! Let's just put it this way...I still have some work to do!
Tonight, I went to Bible Study at my church, where we are doing a 4-week video session of "Loving Well" by Beth Moore. The point of the study is to understand God's love for us, and how that leads to us loving others, which is God's commandment to us. The first week's session established 4 categories of people that we are called by God to love....and if you get right down to it - everyone you know can be placed in these 4 categories:
1 - Joy....These are the people who are a JOY to love! Now of course, this doesn't mean you never get frustrated at these people, or annoyed or even down right mad at them because we are not God and our love is not Perfect Love - as His is. Your "Joy" people are easy to love and you love being around them.
2 - Testy....These people are those that you just dread. You deal with them, but you don't look forward to it. They are under your skin before you even start a conversation with them! They try every ounce of you! You just can't imagine HOW you are supposed to love these people?!
3 - Hate....This person or these people are those that you can admit that you truly hate, or have hated, even though you know it is just so wrong to hate them. They have wronged you so terribly or have done something so despicable in your life that you have no idea how to forgive them, let alone, how to love them.
4 - Far...These are the people that you don't know at all or hardly know. God also calls us to love strangers, provide for them, give to them, be kind to them, LOVE them. LOOK for opportunities to love strangers.
I thought these 4 categories were quite fitting, and it really got me to thinking about who I have in each category. God doesn't just tell us to love the JOYs in our life - even though that is where we tend to concentrate the most time, effort & energy in loving.
My commitment during this study is to gain a deeper understanding of God's love for me, which will then cause me to love myself better, and will therefore allow me to love others & show God's love through my actions.
But between me & you...I had some "testy" encounters today.....God is still working! Let's just put it this way...I still have some work to do!
Sunday, January 14, 2007
So obviously I didn't get into the whole blogging thing...with about 2 years since my last post! But now....my new inspiration for posting is my husband, Jim!!! He has started a blog recently to document his training experience for his first marathon coming up April 28, 2007...the Country Music Marathon in Nashville, TN (and NO, neither of us like Country music!!).
I have to say....I have no need to do another marathon. It's a long story - but I basically completed my husband's goal in Febrary of 2005. He & I were both training for a marathon, but he injured his knee about 1 1/2 months into the 4 month training program. I am just too darn stubborn to stop something midstream, so I completed training all by myself and successfully ran my first (and LAST!) marathon in 4 hrs, 26 minutes (unofficial was 4 hrs 23 minutes....took me 3 minutes to get to the Start line).
I do plan on training with Jim and being there for support and encouragement, as he was with me. I will run the half marathon in Nashville, while Jim & our brother-in-law, Robert, run the full marathon. Today, the 3 of us ran the First Light Half Marathon in Mobile, AL and were all very happy with the results!
All of this running has really been fun - and it has definitely been a family affair! Robert's son, Adam, has also taken up running! He ran the fun run today in Mobile, AL while we 3 were running our 13.1. He also plans on running the 5k in Nashville! Robert's parents, and Jim's parents will likely make the trek to Nashville to see the race. Hopefully some of my family will make the drive from Missouri to join the fun as well! My mom and stepdad are planning on coming to our next race in Mobile, AL - the Azalea Trail run. We have never run in this race - but have heard it is just a gorgeous race....just as it is gorgeous EVERYWHERE in Mobile when all of the azaleas are blooming!
But let's be honest with each other. One of the reasons I am into this racing thing is because of the training. And one of the reasons I am into this training thing is because of burning calories. And one of the reasons I am into burning calories is because I LOVE TO EAT!!! :-) Seriously - during the marathon training in 2004 & 2005, I ate anything I wanted, as much as I wanted & I couldn't keep the weight on! I was having to pin my pants to hold them up - what a good feeling! BUT - I am in my friend Kristin's wedding in one month in St. Louis! I just got fitted for my bridesmaid dress last week & it fit perfectly...just needed a hem. My point is...I can't lose or gain any weight during this next month! And now that I am up to 13+ mile runs on the weekends, I will just have to eat whatever I want to balance it out :-)!
Gotta get going. I promise I won't wait 2 years to post again....
I have to say....I have no need to do another marathon. It's a long story - but I basically completed my husband's goal in Febrary of 2005. He & I were both training for a marathon, but he injured his knee about 1 1/2 months into the 4 month training program. I am just too darn stubborn to stop something midstream, so I completed training all by myself and successfully ran my first (and LAST!) marathon in 4 hrs, 26 minutes (unofficial was 4 hrs 23 minutes....took me 3 minutes to get to the Start line).
I do plan on training with Jim and being there for support and encouragement, as he was with me. I will run the half marathon in Nashville, while Jim & our brother-in-law, Robert, run the full marathon. Today, the 3 of us ran the First Light Half Marathon in Mobile, AL and were all very happy with the results!
All of this running has really been fun - and it has definitely been a family affair! Robert's son, Adam, has also taken up running! He ran the fun run today in Mobile, AL while we 3 were running our 13.1. He also plans on running the 5k in Nashville! Robert's parents, and Jim's parents will likely make the trek to Nashville to see the race. Hopefully some of my family will make the drive from Missouri to join the fun as well! My mom and stepdad are planning on coming to our next race in Mobile, AL - the Azalea Trail run. We have never run in this race - but have heard it is just a gorgeous race....just as it is gorgeous EVERYWHERE in Mobile when all of the azaleas are blooming!
But let's be honest with each other. One of the reasons I am into this racing thing is because of the training. And one of the reasons I am into this training thing is because of burning calories. And one of the reasons I am into burning calories is because I LOVE TO EAT!!! :-) Seriously - during the marathon training in 2004 & 2005, I ate anything I wanted, as much as I wanted & I couldn't keep the weight on! I was having to pin my pants to hold them up - what a good feeling! BUT - I am in my friend Kristin's wedding in one month in St. Louis! I just got fitted for my bridesmaid dress last week & it fit perfectly...just needed a hem. My point is...I can't lose or gain any weight during this next month! And now that I am up to 13+ mile runs on the weekends, I will just have to eat whatever I want to balance it out :-)!
Gotta get going. I promise I won't wait 2 years to post again....
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